Aaron Tai-Roy King continue march in Europe, reach Hylo Open semis

Malaysia’s new men’s doubles sensation Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King continued their fairy tale run in the European circuit, storming into the semi-finals of the World Tour Super 500 Hylo Open in Germany.

After defeating top-seeded Indonesians Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Reza Pahlevi Isfahani yesterday, they just took 30 minutes to knockout Taiwan’s world No 15 duo Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin 21-16, 21-17 in the last eight match at the Saarlandhalle Indoor Arena in Saarbrücken last night.

The world No 74 pair, who lifted the World Tour Super 750 Arctic Open title in their first tournament together in Finland earlier this month, will meet 26th-ranked Danish pair Christian Faust Kjaer-Rasmus Kjaer in the last four.

Aaron Tai-Roy King have the edge on paper as they had beaten the Danish pair in the semi-final at the Arctic Open in straight games.

The Aaron Tai-Roy King partnership has seen a meteoric rise in world ranking, moving up 276 spots from world No 350 in just four weeks of playing together. They are the most successful experimental pair being tried out by the Badminton Association of Malaysia in preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Also in the semi-finals are Malaysia’s world No 24 mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing who will face world No 3 from France, Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue.

This is the fifth semi-final appearance at a World Tour championships in five months for Pang Ron-Pei Jing, from the 10 tournaments the independent duo have played since being paired together.